For 55 years, Farmers has had a presence in America's New Year Celebration®, the Rose Parade. On January 1, 2014 the national insurer will feature a float to recognize the nation's teachers and the company will invite a Montana teacher to ride on the float. The winning teacher will be the educator who receives the most votes for their proposal on the ThankMontanaTeachers.com web site.

"This is an exciting new development for our Thank Montana Teachers initiative and especially so for one lucky teacher in Montana," said Randy Rice, National Manager of Education Programs for Farmers Insurance. "Now, more than ever, we encourage everyone to go to the ThankMontanaTeachers.com web site to vote for their favorite proposal to help one lucky teacher represent all Montana teachers in the Rose Parade on January 1."

As part of the Thank Montana Teachers program, residents of the state have been encouraged to go to the dedicated web site to thank their favorite teachers. During October, Montana teachers who were thanked on the web site were eligible to submit proposals for grants of up to $2,500 for use in their classrooms. As a result, more than 170 teachers submitted proposals.

From November 1 through November 30, the public has been invited to go to the ThankMontanaTeachers.com web site to vote for their favorite proposals. The top 10 vote-getters will receive grants valued at up to $2,500 each.

Today's announcement by Farmers Insurance adds a new level of excitement to the voting process by offering a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a local Montana teacher to ride on a parade float in one of the nation's most popular events.

In addition to getting the opportunity to ride on the Farmers Insurance Float in the Rose Parade, the winning teacher will receive round-trip air transportation for the educator and a guest, two tickets to the Rose Bowl Game®, and other benefits. Complete details and rules for the promotion are available at ThankMontanaTeachers.com.

Farmers Insurance Group of Companies is a leading U.S. insurer group of automobiles, homes and small businesses and also provides a wide range of other insurance and financial services products. Farmers Insurance is proud to serve more than 10 million households with more than 20 million individual policies across all 50 states through the efforts of over 50,000 exclusive and independent agents and nearly 24,000 employees.

The Farmers Exchanges are three reciprocal insurers (Farmers Insurance Exchange, Fire Insurance Exchange® and Truck Insurance Exchange®), including their subsidiaries and affiliates, owned by their policyholders. Farmers Group, Inc., along with its subsidiaries, manages the non-claims insurance operations of the Farmers Exchanges. Farmers Group, Inc. is wholly owned by the Zurich Insurance Group. For more information about Farmers, visit its Web site at www.farmers.com or at www.Facebook.com/FarmersInsurance.

About the Pasadena Tournament of Roses®The Pasadena Tournament of Roses is a volunteer organization that annually hosts the Rose Parade® presented by Honda, the Rose Bowl Game® presented by VIZIO and a variety of associated events. The Tournament's 935 volunteer members act as ambassadors of the organization within the community and serve on one of 31 committees that ensure the success of the parade and game. Collectively, they contribute upwards of 80,000 hours of manpower each year. The 125th Rose Parade presented by Honda, themed "Dreams Come True," will take place Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2014, followed by the 100th Rose Bowl Game presented by VIZIO. On Jan. 6, 2014, the Tournament also will host the 2014 VIZIO BCS National Championship at the Rose Bowl Stadium. For additional information on the Tournament of Roses please visit the official website at www.tournamentofroses.com.